I would say my best sits are older people as HOs. Usually they have lovely spacious homes, uncluttered, cleaning staff, landscaping staff, great backyards to hang out in. Like now, great pergola with high end outdoor seating and coffee table. Great garden. Most times I get a lovely guest suite, comfortable bed, good linens.
4 Likes
Pretty standard in the UK, Ireland, and many places in Europe. Itās interesting to discover differences like this.
2 Likes
Theyāre often called dishpans in the U.S., though many people donāt use them. Thatās probably because many Americans use dishwashers. That means you might rinse your dishes before loading the dishwasher, so you want all the debris-laden water to run down the drain in the kitchen sink. Many U.S. homes also have garbage disposals, which grind up food debris after you rinse and send water down the drain. (Relatively few people compost in the U.S.)
2 Likes
complete generalisation and very often wrong.
2 Likes
I read this posting with interest and then checked my own listing, how would you even know how old someone is? An educated guess at most as itās not a question you are asked as a host all there is is a photograph and that could have been taken at any point.
I say we are retired but how does anyone know what ages we retired at? You may video call and then decide we are too old but thatās a judgement based on how we look, either older or younger than the reality. My dad died at 90 and looked 70 my mum at 70 and looked 50s. (We are all lucky to have very unlined faces, we may sag in other places though 
)
Surely itās attitude towards life and others thatās key not a random age.
6 Likes
Itās an interesting question and yes I think I do take note of age in terms of how I write my application. If itās a younger person I think I emphasise that itād be like having their parents house/pet sit maybe? If itās a retired couple thereās an immediate awareness of what they might be looking for in us as retired sitters so Iāll emphasise that.
2 Likes
No.
I would hate H.Os to make assumptions about me because Iām in my 60s (Oh, she wonāt be able to walk farā¦ Sheāll be very stuck in her waysā¦ She wonāt be adaptable.. Sheāll get sick all the time.. She wonāt be able to do any physical work..Sheāll have a poor memory.. etc etc etc - which is all errant nonsense) So I never make any assumptions about them.
4 Likes
Thatās a very good point 
1 Like
Actually in my 60s -
I have been compromised health wise
I am less fit than I was
I am very clear about my boundaries
I am very assertive
Iām very wise
However-
I do stay in more in the evenings
I wake up much earlier
So itās pros/cons
2 Likes
So far not wrong. Older people, with grown kids out of house, generally have lovely clean homes, a guest suite for me. The young professionals have had one bedroom apt/condos. Clean, but I have to sleep in the master as there is no other bed. And small enough that they are easy to clean. But I like it when I can close off most of the other rooms, have my bed and bath and then run of the kitchen and one living space. I tend to close off when there are multiple sitting rooms. And I like it when there is lovely outdoor sitting space. Generally with older people for whom I have sat. Younger people, with young children, generally have clutter. Toys, crib stuff. One sit I did had a playpen 3 times the size of normal one, just sitting in the middle of the family room. She left the baby bath stuff in the bathroom. I had to pull all the stuff out so we could stay there. Same place the beds had the top sheet sideways.
I have been retired for 20 years. So retirement says nothing about age. Since I am the age now that most retire. I am very active. But the body does wear out. I find I cannot jump, just up and down. Well, I could, but my body doesnāt like it. Little things like that. But I am fully capable of 5 mile hike in the mountains, as I just did a strenuous one in Griffith Park, even the large dog had enough once we got to the observatory. 821 ft of incline. We took the AC bus back.
3 Likes
The compost thing may be regional. Not only is there now ācurbside compostingā in NYC, but on most rurual/small town sits weāve done ā where there was a garden, there was a compost bin. That is Massachusettes and Upstate NY.
Yes, composting tends to be contracted locally in the U.S. Figures vary, depending on the source, but theyāre all low.
Source: https://www.waste360.com/composting/study-claims-most-americans-would-compost-if-it-s-easy-and-cheap
The Google AI answer presumably includes commercial food waste.
Just curious. What is the difference between a one bedroom apt. and a large home where one close off the home but for the guestroom/kitchen/one living space - if it is so that one prefer the latter?
My POV: House ideally has no shared walls, greater privacy and less noise. Ideally a yard if youāre sitting dogs, so you can let them out if they need to go in a hurry between walks. Place to park if you have wheels, which also makes baggage and groceries easier to schlep. Might have nice outdoor spaces. Might have a pool and/or hot tub, if you care about such, which I donāt. Might have better neighbors and neighborhood amenities, depending on the home.
With apartments, renters are hit or miss, and there are many who donāt know each other or help look after each other. With house neighbors, thereās greater chance of that. Personally, Iāve had great experiences with house neighbors on sits.
1 Like
Well, that is probably often true. Otherwise, my experience has not been like yours.
I stayed in spotless homes that were big, and people living there were young.
Parking. Sometimes parking is a paid issue. And if they want you there early in the morning, as this HO did and then late in the evening, as this HO did, you cannot stay over. It was Toronto and I could stay with a friend both front end and back end, but for many that is the issue. How do you get there at 7 am without staying over? I could. And I could stay until 6 pm and then leave and go to my friendās without a hotel. Many would expect to stay over front end and rear end.
1 Like
We donāt make it a deal breakerā¦but we have found, especially here in America that middle aged to older people usually have cleaner homes and a more comfortable environment. We have had a few stays with younger HO (under 30) and these were our least clean or least comfortable common areas.
1 Like
Iām not sitting full time. Iām not sitting long-term. Age of the homeowners doesnāt enter into the equation at all. We look for:
- date ranges we can travel
- pets we are willing to sit during those dates
- a specific length of sit.
- various locations that are attractive to us.
Age and behavoir of pets is something I might further filter for on a listing. I am fine with older pets but pets that are likely to have a health emergency are a no.
Sleeping in the master is not an issue and is usually expected in a city sit.
The age of the home owners is not even on a list of things Iād think about.
7 Likes
Our first host was very young. This was in Perth, Australia. Back in those days we did not do video calls but we did have a phonecall and she was super friendly and mature sounding. We did know she was young, and she and hubby to be were flying to India to get married, but we actually never met in person as they flew a few days earlier. Her mother (our age) lived with her and did the handover. We also met the grandparents & several other family members and discovered through them that our host was only 19! Weāve had a few younger hosts in their 30s, especially in city, or apartment, sits, but most of our hosts tend to be in the 50s/60s- like us or a little older. Probably because we actively seek out lovely country properties when in UK or villas with pools overseas etc generally owned by older people who bought when large homes were affordable!
Age of host has never been a conscious factor in our decision making. Age and health of the pet is much more of a concern!
5 Likes
I thought that the minimum age for all THS members was 21 !! But there again a hostās ID isnāt verified only a sitterās.
4 Likes